Dust ruffles for beds, and more generally, skirts for covering at least one of the sides of an article such as a table, are typically formed by attaching the upper edge of a strip of material to the perimeter of a flat piece of material, the strip of material frequently having pleats formed therein. The flat piece of material is then spread over the box springs of the bed or the article to be covered, and the strip of material hangs down over the sides of the box springs or article so that the box springs or article is at least partially hidden from view by the material. On a dust ruffle, the strip material is usually pleated and typically covers both sides and one end of the box springs, though it may cover both sides and both ends of the box springs. On any other article to be covered, the strip of material may cover one side, a combination of sides or the entire outer perimeter of the article.
The current methods of forming a skirt have many disadvantages. Among these disadvantages are the difficulty and expense of manufacturing pleated material and, in the case of forming a dust ruffle around a bed, the fact that the mattress must be lifted off of the box springs in order to place or remove the dust ruffle.